TAT: Potential Match with Top Ranked Virginia ITA

This article originally appeared in the January 23, 2013 issue of The Arkansas Traveler.

Heading into the first round of the ITA Indoor Team Championships, the Razorbacks men’s tennis team must not look past their first opponent.

Arkansas will face No. 63 Georgia State at 2 p.m. Friday in the first match of the ITA Kickoff Weekend. If they defeat Georgia State, they will most likely face No. 1 Virginia Saturday.

First-year head coach Joerg Barthel, who was previously the associate head coach at Nebraska, leads Georgia State.

“(Barthel) is familiar with our student-athletes, but we’re not that familiar with Georgia State student-athletes,” UA head coach Robert Cox said. “From what I can see, they’re very talented.”

With a potential showdown with the No. 1 team in the country on the horizon, Cox knows he must make sure his team is focused on the Panthers.

“I’m not looking ahead, but I know (the players) are. That’s just natural,” Cox said. “I have to grab their attention today and tomorrow.”

He believes that once the team arrives in Charlottesville, Va., he’ll be able to “pull them in a little bit” and make them realize the importance of beating Georgia State first, Cox said.

Arkansas’ matches against Nebraska-Omaha and South Dakota State last weekend provided them with a chance to “get back on the court and back to our winning ways,” Cox said.

On the court, Cox expects seniors Mike Ward and Gregoire Lehmann to continue growing into leadership roles.

Last weekend, Ward and Lehmann won both of their singles and doubles matches.

Freshman Santiago Munoz also had a solid weekend in his debut matches.

“He played like a veteran out there,” Cox said. “I know he was nervous. I was nervous for him.”

Austin Robles and Christian Lee began their careers with the Razorbacks as freshmen, both earning their first collegiate victories. Redshirt junior Pete Thomason also picked up his first victory with Arkansas.

“It was good to get the nerves out,” Cox said. “I know they had the jitters for a little bit, but they did well.”

The Razorbacks must face Georgia State seniors Lucas Santa Ana and Victor Valente, who are 10-1 and 10-3, respectively, in singles matches so far this season.

If the Razorbacks get by Georgia State and play the top-ranked Cavaliers, they will have to face junior Alex Domijan and senior Jarmere Jenkins, the No. 2 and No. 4 athletes in the ITA singles rankings, respectively, and reigning All-Americans.

The other team in the Charlottesville regional is No. 64 North Florida.

TAT: Men's Tennis Begins Season with Trip to Omaha

This article originally appeared online on January 17, 2013 on The Arkansas Traveler website (uatrav.com).

The Arkansas men’s tennis team will begin the season ranked No. 56 in the country, with hopes of improving their ranking as the season progresses.

“Some people say (the No. 56 ranking) is pretty good, but that’s not where we want to be,” UA head coach Robert Cox said. “We want to be back up in the top 25 by the year’s end, maybe even higher.”

The road to a higher ranking will be difficult for the Razorbacks, as all 12 Southeastern Conference teams rank ahead of them (Missouri does not have a men’s tennis team).
Eight of the 12 teams are in the top 25, including Georgia and Kentucky in the top 10, at No. 6 and No. 9, respectively.

“Earning a high ranking at the end of the year is very doable,” Cox said. “We have the schedule to do it and the team to do it.”

Before beginning SEC play, they must first go through a tough nonconference schedule, which begins this weekend in Omaha, Neb.

The Razorbacks will take on Division I newcomer Nebraska-Omaha and a young South Dakota State team.

“It’s very unusual that we’re making a road trip on the first weekend,” Cox said. “We’re playing two teams we really don’t know much about on paper, but we’re just going to worry about us.”

Cox hopes the long road trip will allow his team to bond and provide an opportunity to improve.

With the graduation of last year’s seniors Taj Harrison, Matt Walters and Nikolas Zogaj, the Razorbacks lost three natural leaders. So far this season, however, no one has stepped up and filled in that role, but that does not concern Cox.

“This team may not have any ‘captains,’ which is very unusual, but I’m not too worried about it,” Cox said. “We get along well and everyone steps up in a different way.”

On the court, Cox believes his players had a solid fall season and expects them to get better in Omaha.

Junior Manfred Jeske played “really well in the fall,” Cox said, as well as senior Hall Fess.

Arkansas will also have senior Mike Ward back after he missed time this fall with an injury.

Along with improving their ranking, Cox’s goal for the team is to make it back to the NCAA Tournament in May. Last year, the Razorbacks were only a couple matches away from making the tournament.

They will face Nebraska-Omaha and South Dakota State at 10 a.m. and 2 p.m., respectively, this Sunday.

TAT: Razorbacks Ready to Face Aggies

This article originally appeared in the January 17, 2013 issue of The Arkansas Traveler.

After starting the indoor season with an 85-78 victory in a dual meet against No. 3 Texas, the Arkansas men’s track and field team is ready for another challenge.

This weekend, they will travel to College Station, Texas, to compete in the Texas A&M Triangular, where they will put their No. 1 ranking on the line against Southeastern Conference foes No. 4 Texas A&M and No. 10 LSU.

“It’ll be good to get down there and get a taste of good competition,” UA head coach Chris Bucknam said. “It could be a mini preview of what’s to come (in the SEC).”

Senior middle distance runner Leoman Momoh suffered a hamstring injury in the dual meet against Texas, but he should be back by the end of this week, Bucknam said.

With his best opening mark of his career, senior Caleb Cross finished the 60-meter hurdles in 7.79 seconds. Bucknam believes Cross is one of the best hurdlers in the country and expects him to improve his time this weekend.

He also expects several other Razorbacks to improve in College Station. Junior jumper Raymond Higgs posted the top NCAA long jump of the season with a distance of 26-1, while not at his full approach.

Freshman jumper Jarrion Lawson “also shows some great promise” for improvement at the Texas A&M Triangular, Bucknam said. Lawson had a long jump of 25 1/2.

In the mile, freshman Cale Wallace ran the fastest time in the SEC this season with a time of 4:08.63 and had a “real strong last lap,” Bucknam said.

“He’s a real hard worker and a great competitor,” Bucknam said. “We originally had him running the 800-meter, but we moved some guys around and bumped him up to the mile.”

The women’s team will also travel to College Station for the Texas A&M Triangular.

They are coming off an 81-61 victory over Oklahoma State in a dual meet and own the No. 7 ranking. This weekend, they’ll face No. 4 LSU and No. 6 Texas A&M.

“We’re going to have to step up big time,” UA head coach Lance Harter said. “We have some newcomers that are in for a hard dose of reality.”

The Tigers and Aggies both “have great balance this year,” Harter said.

Texas A&M is led by senior distance runner Natosha Rogers, who won the 10,000-meter race at the NCAA Championships.

Senior sprinter Kim Duncan won the Bowerman Award, which is given to collegiate track and field’s top athlete, for LSU last year.

“If you don’t chase (Duncan) fast, you’re going to get run over,” Harter said. “Those type of people can embarrass you very quickly.”

However, Harter knows his team can hang with this tough competition. Sophomore jumper Tamara Myers won the SEC Field Athlete of the Week award for her performance against Oklahoma State and “looks like a whole new athlete this year,” Harter said.

While they were held out from the Oklahoma State dual meet, senior sprinter Regina George and junior distance runner Grace Heymsfield will race in College Station.

Both Bucknam and Harter are excited to compete at Texas A&M’s indoor track.

“Texas A&M has a great facility,” Bucknam said.

“A&M’s track is fast,” Harter said. “I think we’re going to have the opportunity to have some good national marks.”

TAT: Anderson Seeks Another Strong Defensive Effort

This article originally appeared in the January 15, 2013 issue of The Arkansas Traveler.

After defeating Vanderbilt 56-33 for the first Southeastern Conference victory of the season last Saturday, UA head coach Mike Anderson  wants to focus on shutting down key players in the home matchup against Auburn Wednesday.

The Tigers will come into Bud Walton Arena with an 8-7 overall record and a perfect 2-0 record in SEC play.

“They’re putting it together at the right time,” Anderson said. “In basketball, there are no surprises to me anymore. Fans may look at a team’s nonconference schedule, but as coaches, we look at the personnel they have.”

Senior guard Frankie Sullivan leads the Tigers with 17.2 points per game. Last season, Sullivan scored 25 points in two games against Arkansas.

“We’re very familiar with Sullivan,” Anderson said. “He’s a dynamic scorer and a fifth-year senior, so his leadership is important for his team.”

Rob Chubb has also been “playing extremely well” for Auburn down low, Anderson said, averaging 9.7 points per game and a team-leading 7.9 rebounds per game.

While Anderson is not happy with his team’s recent offensive performance, he is not worried about it. Despite only scoring 51 points and 56 points against Texas A&M and Vanderbilt, respectively, he believes they will turn it around.

“We just haven’t made shots,” Anderson said. “I thought we’ve had some good looks; we just haven’t knocked them down.”

Sophomore guard BJ Young is averaging 17.1 points per game and junior forward Marshawn Powell is averaging 14.3 points per game. However, no other player is averaging over 7.4 points per game.

“We have to have a third and fourth scorer,” Anderson said. “Our team is built on balance, so we have to have some guys step up.”

He points to freshman guard Anthlon Bell as a player who could step into a larger scoring role. Bell is only averaging 4.3 points per game, but Anderson said he has been practicing well and needs to transfer it into games.

“I think Anthlon Bell is a guy that’s about to burst onto the scene,” Anderson said. “He puts himself in position to take good shots.”

Defensively, the Razorbacks are coming off of their best defensive performance of the season, holding Vanderbilt to only 33 points, their fewest points allowed in a game since joining the SEC.

This bodes well for Arkansas, as Auburn plays a similar “mid-tempo” style of basketball, Anderson said.

“We want to build some momentum and continue to play that harassing style of defense,” Anderson said.

Although only 11,526 fans attended the Vanderbilt game, Anderson expects the crowd for the Auburn game to be larger because UA students are back in class.

“More than anything else, I like the energy of the crowd,” Anderson said. “They’re very vocal.”

The Razorbacks and Tigers tip off at 7 p.m. Wednesday in Bud Walton Arena.